


The Initiation Trials

by calsupremacy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Inquisitor Cal Kestis, jfo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calsupremacy/pseuds/calsupremacy
Summary: Though the thought of destroying the holocron he had worked so hard to retrieve crossed his mind, he crushed that thought as soon as it came. Cal Kestis knew that this object was a gateway towards hope against beating the Empire. It ended up being one of the biggest mistakes he made. A year after finding Cordova's holocron, the initiate Inquisitor Cal Kestis finds himself tasked with a mission that would turn out to be heavier than he had expected.> Expanding on the timeline where Cal does not destroy the holocron.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	The Initiation Trials

“Fix your stance.” Cal told the young padawan, his tone strong and understanding. It was early in the evening and the youngling had requested for Cal to help her with her stance before downtime. He appreciated her willingness to learn - staying back to work on her performance rather than going off with the others to socialize. The small Twi’lek girl was about thirteen. Cal vaguely remembered locating her about a year ago, on a distant planet in the Outer Rim. The two had grown rather close, and, though he would never admit it, he was rather interested in her progress.

Becoming a master had been a rocky path that he was still travelling on, but Cere had shown him the ropes, at least. Merrin and Greez liked to contribute what they could as well.

“Alright Kara.” He told the padawan after a few more minutes of practice. “I think you’ve got it.” Cal said, stepping back.

The padawan was a bit too hunched over, but she was close enough. Feet planted firmly on the ground, separated just enough to give her stability, hands gripped tightly around the small training lightsaber hilt. She gave a few excited swings before looking back over at him. He nodded and she relaxed her pose, disabling the lightsaber and tucking it away.

“Are you sure I had it correct?” She questioned hurriedly, voice squeaking as she beamed up at him.

“I’m sure-” He began, but was abruptly cut off by a loud clang. Cal straightened, eyes lighting up with alarm. “Stay here.” He told the young padawan, glancing back at her to see her formerly excited expression darkened with concern. 

He took a few strides to the dojo’s door before it slid open, flashes of white emerging from the shadows. Exclaiming in surprise, the flashes were interrupted by the crackling afterimages of Cal’s yellow lightsaber blocking and parrying the blaster bolts. Cal fell back, giving a quick look over his shoulder to see the padawan initiating the stance she had just learned.

He opened his mouth to tell her to run instead, but the grazing of a shot along his waist shut it back to its original state, jaw clenched. Pain lit up his nervous system, travelling from his abdomen all the way up to his alerted brain. The pain was bad, but the situation was worse.

Though he stumbled a bit, he was still standing. “Go.” He told the padawan, stepping in front of her as the onslaught began. She did not ignore his advice, taking off towards the back door.

Cal began cutting his way through the hallway, saber making contact with blank helmets and blinding armour as he continued on. The sounds of terrified screams rung through the corridor, beams of light reflecting off the worn down walls.

It was only when he made it through the squad in the hallway did he process the situation. A sense of fear and despair closed in on him as the shouts of younglings seemed to get louder, swamping his head in a piercing headache that raked against the inside of his skull. The dark blood splattered his clothes seemed to bring him down, heart sinking rapidly as he made his way down the hallway. The loss of life tugged at his limbs, whispering for him to give up. It was too early to see the absolute terror in the padawan’s eyes like he just had. This was all too early - this wasn’t supposed to happen. He had done everything right, hadn’t he? Just as he spotted a young boy clutching his side, hand soaked in blood from his blaster wound, whimpering fearfully as he lost his grip on consciousness, the vision ended abruptly.

Cal jolted, sitting up, chest rising and falling rapidly as his eyes flew open. The low humming of the facility pulled him back into reality, gradually slowing his heart rate down to its regular pace. He swung his legs over the edge of the mattress, pushing the dark sheets to the edge. He was no longer in that training facility, but in his chamber instead. The young Inquisitor gripped the edge of the mattress tightly, attempting to ground himself.

It was a decently sized room, and reminded him of his old residence when he was a padawan. The bunk was indented in the wall, though was much larger than the one from his childhood. The walls were sleek, and the room was dark with accents of red and white. Cal stood on the tiled floor, the cold seeping into his skin and cooling him down. He moved slowly around the room, pulling his uniform over himself, breath shaky.

The dream had been frequently appearing when he went down every night to rest his eyes. It had been like this ever since the incident. Often did he wish for it to leave - not because it was just a nuisance, but it felt like reliving one of the most traumatic moments of his life over and over again. He envied those who didn’t dream, or, rather, those who simply did not remember their dreams. 

Pushing the events his mind had performed for him during the night out of his head, he moved towards the door, his footsteps breaking the silence. For most of his life, he spent his time in silence enjoying it, but now, it felt lonely. 

Being lonely was the least of his concerns.

The mechanical door slid open smoothly, opening up to reveal a padded hallway. Cal stepped outside, glancing around subtly. It was empty, apart from a utility droid working on patching up part of the wall. Cal wasn’t sure if that one had been his fault or not. It was a blur, really.

The ginger listened as the chamber door slid closed behind him, letting out a short puff of air as it did so. He began maneuvering down the hallway, armour clanking lightly as he did so. He was glad that he wasn’t required to wear a full suit of armour - that just sounded really, really frustrating. He was thankful for his minimalistic uniform. It let him move around easily.

Just as he finished that train of thought, a short squadron of fully-armoured stormtroopers turned the corner, footsteps stomping in unison. Cal shifted slightly out of their way, passing them by without glancing at any of them. Sometimes they were entertaining, and other times, like just then, they were horridly boring. They didn’t seem to do much but die, really.

The newly-appointed initiate Inquisitor had been called in for a meeting that morning, and was making his way to the designated location. He was unsure on what the actual subject of the meeting was, but he hoped that it was something that would break the monotony of training and learning. Yes, he enjoyed that, and he knew the Galactic Empire didn’t trust him enough to let him run off on his own on behalf of the Inquisitorius, but it was no fun. Cal was a man of action, and he was missing one essential component - the action part.

The remnants of the nightmare he had just finished experiencing lingered at the edge of his thoughts, compelling him to clench his gloved fists as he hurried down the hallway.

As strange as it seemed, being here on Nur, at the Fortress, was somewhat relaxing for him. The atmosphere was organized, and it calmed him. Everyone seemed to have everything together. There was an inherent order to everything. The walls were dark, and the glass was tinted slightly. Small details lined the top and bottom of the walls, adding a nice touch.

Eventually he stopped in front of two large sliding doors at the very end of the hallway, pushing a button with the back of hand. The doors slid open to reveal a long table running straight ahead, dark chairs lining the edges. Cal spotted three other figures in the room - minus the two purge troopers that stood on either sides of the room - two officers he vaguely recognized, and a shadowy man who he had only learnt the name of a few months ago; Vader. He was particularly daunting, and though he was masked, seemed to stare straight into the inner workings of Cal’s mind.

He broke eye contact with the Sith Lord, moving casually towards the table and taking a seat in the nearest chair. He tried not to get too excited over the fact that it was one of those spinny chairs, keeping his expression straight. He said nothing, watching as the officers looked eagerly at the Lord standing at the head of the table, his looming presence darkening the room.

His voice box clicked, indicating that he was about to begin speaking and Cal instinctively stiffened, shoulders going up into his neck.

“I’ve called you all in regarding a mission that is to be announced within the next few days.” Began Vader, taking in a long breath after finishing his sentence. “I’m sure you’re all aware of the location of Eno Cordova’s holocron due to the earlier fiasco surrounding the object.” He said somewhat accusedly. Cal could feel his glare even through the mask covering his eyes.

“Along with the holocron itself, Cere Junda, a treasonous Jedi Knight, is in possession of multiple escaped padawans.” He continued, turning slightly and taking a few steps towards the large window overlooking the watery depths just across from the door. “Because of this, she poses a notable threat to the security of the Empire. I am tasking all of you,” he paused, seeming to overlook the four in the room, “with locating and eliminating these threats. By executing retrieval of the holocron and the termination of the Jedi threat, order will be secured.”

Cal glanced over at the officers, both of whom seemed to be fixed on paying attention to the mission statement. He clasped his hands nervously, resting them on the smooth table and letting the cool surface calm his racing heart and rising body temperature. He hadn’t had any previous notification of this task, and it was a lot for him to take in.

“I want you two acting as base command - controlling communications, tracking, notation and whatnot.” Vader continued, turning towards the officers. They nodded in unison, expressions unreadable.

“And you.” He turned towards Cal, tilting his head up slightly. “Due to your history with Junda, I believe it is in the Empire’s best interest that you embark on your first formal mission with the Inquisitorius. Though it is risky to put you in contact with Junda, I see this as an opportunity to prove your competence.”

Cal, head spinning, said nothing, simply nodding in response. He didn’t hear the rest of what was said - he merely stood up and left when the others did. The mission was to begin in about two days, but no amount of time could prepare him for what was to come.


End file.
